You’ve Waited 8 Years & You’ve Failed Your Pilot Assessment Day?

Wow, you’ve progressed to the Pilot Assessment Day with this Iconic Legacy Carrier, well done!

You’ve been waiting over 8 years for this, and its now right in front of you.

So I’d like to ask how your preparation is going?

Why I ask is simple. Two recent pilot candidates, who were among the very very few who made it through to the second day, the SIM, came back to me with really interesting feedback.

A Super High Failure Rate

They reported that the rest of the candidates, around 16, mostly multi crew experienced pilots, didn’t get through. Yep, they failed the Assessment Day processes, getting the usual; try again in 12 months.

A devastating response when it has been such a wait to get to this stage.

One of these successful pilots has been building a career with other jet carriers, and we have been with this pilot throughout each stage of their journey, probably around 10 years now.

So, this pilot did a little reconnaissance, as they were rather surprised at the lack of success, remember they have done quite a few of these.

Reconnaissance Results

They found out that the majority of those who did not progress had done zero formal preparation. They used a computer based SIM on their laptop, they may have gotten hold of some of the questions and they had chatted with other past candidates. But that was mostly it.

Why You Must Prepare in Advance

Now, I don’t mind if you ask us for help or someone else, but getting the right preparation is crucial, here’s why:

The airline has to assess you based on key criteria, if you don’t know what the criteria is, how can you meet it?

This isn’t a personality contest; even if they like you, it is still about providing the airline with evidence of your behaviour, they don’t care what you think of yourself they need evidence and facts.

You must have a solid bank of examples ready in advance, thinking on your feet under the pressure is disastrous.

They insist you use of the STAR method to answer questions, do you know what that is?

Do you know what traits they are watching for during the Group Exercise? If not, how can you portray those.

All of this can be learnt, so again whether it’s us or another provider, get ahead of the Assessment Day so that you give yourself the best chance of success.

And, this applies to any and all airline pilot jobs, the majority use the same techniques.